Home Owner’s Blog

Lydia from HomeForHome.com was kind enough to send a summary of their site.  Sounds interesting!  Would you swap home with someone for a period of time?  Seems like this could turn even mundane destinations into an adventure!

In terms of our day to day lives, the internet is massive. Irrepressible. But apart from time spent literally using the computer, how far does internet affect the way we live?  Well, the interesting new phenomenon of online home swapping would certainly suggest that such online communities can radically change the travel and holiday options that many internet users have.
Sites such as http://en.homeforhome.com offer users free memberships, and once they’ve set up a profile they have access to a database consisting of almost 3000 homes across the world with which they can propose holiday home swaps. In short, you set up a profile, find a house in a country or location that you like, and then ask them if that user would like to spend a holiday in your area. If they agree, then you can go and stay in a house of your choice and have a holiday without any accommodation costs. A free home exchange.
Admittedly, some people find the idea terrifying. “I’d never let a stranger into my house!” But there are plenty of people for whom home swapping has become the norm. It may be that it is particularly relevant given the current economic climate. Using homeforhome as an example – it was established in February 2009 has had an incredible rapid growth of 0 to 5274 users within 4 months.
It could easily be that as people are making big cut-backs on their spending, the idea of cheap holidays has come kicking and screaming into the fore. Or alternatively, it could be that it is only with the current speed and efficiency of the internet that large databases can be so readily accessed, on such a cohesive global level.
Either way, this is definitely a phenomenon produced by the internet, and for many it is the difference between being able to go on holiday and not being able to go on holiday.